Mike's Whistle
by TheStationmaster
Summary: When Duck's whistle makes funny sounds, Mike teases him, but later, problems occur for Mike's whistle.


**Another Thomas rewrite, this time it's "Mike's Whistle" from Season 20. Enjoy and comment.**

Rex and Bert are two small engines who work on the miniature railway on the Island of Sodor near Arlesburgh.

Mike also works on the miniature railway. He is painted a splendid shade of red.

Oftentimes, Mike can be rather grumpy, and doesn't like pulling passengers at all.

One morning, Thomas came to Arlesburgh West, laughing along the way.

Thomas had came to collect some ballast stone for his branch line.

"What's so funny?" asked Rex.

"It's Duck!" laughed Thomas. "Did you hear his whistle this morning? His driver boiled an egg on it, and it got stuck!"

Just then, Duck arrived.

Thomas and Rex tried to hold their laughter.

"I never knew you could boil an egg on a stream whistle!" teased Rex.

"Neither did I." said Duck. "But don't try it at all."

"Enough is enough Duck." said the driver, as Duck puffed away.

Thomas and Rex began laughing again.

"Duck shouldn't be making awful sounds." said Mike, who was on the turntable. "It's not polite."

"Then I'm going to whistle like Duck today!" laughed Thomas as he puffed away, imitating Duck's whistle sound.

"If engines can't whistle properly, then they shouldn't at all." thought Mike.

"Then why do you?" asked Bert.

"I was talking about Duck. Unlike him, I have an excellent whistle!"

Mike blew his whistle loud and proud.

Rex and Bert laughed.

"If I had a whistle like you, I'd lose it!" teased Rex.

"Whistles are very important!" snapped Mike. "Engines without whistles aren't proper and useful engines at all!"

Then, it happened. Mike's steam pressure went so high, that his safety valve blew off!

"Oh dear." came a voice from inside a brick building. "Is Mike overheating again?"

Then, a nicely dressed, tall man came out from inside the building. His name is Fergus Duncan, and he's the man in charge of all the engines on the miniature railway. He is known to you and me as Mr Duncan.

"It looks like I'll have to reduce your workload Mike." said Mr Duncan. "I want you to take the passenger train today."

"No sir, please sir!" said Mike. "I'll be fine. I prefer taking the goods train."

"Sorry Mike, but I can't have you blowing off steam. Bert will take the goods train, and you will take the passenger train. That way, you can be a really useful engine. You can resume normal work, when your safety valve is properly working again."

This made Mike very cross.

Mike was still cross when he arrived to collect the passengers.

"Let's try to behave ourselves Mike." said the driver. "We still want to be really useful."

Mike steamed away.

He zoomed by Rex at warp speed, tooting his whistle loudly.

Rex was surprised.

"There's nothing wrong with my whistle at all!" tooted Mike.

Mike puffed through the countryside.

"Everyone is jealous of my whistle, but I'll show them!"

All across the line, there are small **WHISTLE** signs, so that engines know where to whistle.

But Mike was blowing his whistle at everything!

When they reached the end of the line, Mike's driver inspected him.

"I have no clue what's the matter with you." said his driver.

"There's nothing wrong with me!" snapped Mike. "I'm fine! Just don't cook no eggs on my whistle!"

"I won't." laughed the driver.

But as they were traveling back along the line, Mike's driver heard a funny noise.

"What's that?" wondered the driver.

"What's what?" asked Mike.

"That funny sound!"

"Will you stop!"

"Listen. Something is wrong with your boiler!"

"So what?! Fix it when we get back!"

But then, there was trouble. A gigantic cow was sitting on the line.

The driver applied the brakes, and stopped the train.

" **MOO!"** went the cow.

"Be patient Mike." said the driver. The cow will move, and we can continue on."

"That cow is always on the track, and always makes me cross!" said Mike.

So Mike puffed towards the cow.

"Shoo shoo! Move move!"

But the cow didn't move, and Mike was now even more cross.

In fact, Mike was so cross, that he whistled so hard!

And then, his whistle blew right off! 

The whistle shot into the air like a rocket, before landing in the field!"

"So that's what the problem was!" said the driver.

Mike was upset.

So Mike's driver and fireman went looking for the lost whistle in the field.

But there was no sign of it at all!

The passengers were getting cross, and were starting to complain.

"Hurry up!" they shouted.

They were also saying what a bad railway it was.

Everyone was very cross.

The cow on the other hand, was licking Mike.

Finally, an old man had enough, and stepped off the train.

"What's so important about a whistle?"

"Because I have to whistle at certain points along the line." explained Mike. "That way, other engines know I'm coming! That's orders!"

"We'll be here for hours!" said the old man sternly.

"We'll have to whistle for you then!" said a younger man.

The man whistled.

"Good idea!" called another man.

Then, all the passengers began whistling, which drove the cow away.

Everyone clapped and cheered!

Soon, Mike continued on, and the driver, fireman and passengers whistled at every whistle point.

There was more noise than ever, and Mike felt very embarrassed.

Mike was running late when he arrived back at Arlesburgh.

Duck was waiting for him.

"Traffic jam Mike?" asked Duck.

"No." replied Mike. "There was a cow on the line, and worse of all, I had trouble with my whistle!"

"I know what that's like." said Duck, "but at least my driver fixed my whistle!"

Then, Thomas puffed in.

"What's wrong with Mike?" wondered Thomas.

"Don't worry." said Rex. "He's an improper engine."

"What do you mean?" asked Thomas.

"He's got no whistle!" laughed Bert.

"And got caught up with a cow!" added in Rex

Mike sighed as the other engines continued to tease him.

Poor Mike was crosser than ever, but hoped that his whistle would be fixed soon.

If he hadn't been so fussy, he would still have a whistle.

I hope Mike has learned his lesson, don't you?


End file.
